South Africa began their journey to the Champions Trophy with a leap - not just a step - as they overcame Pakistan with a polished all-round effort that was set up by their batsmen and finished off in the field. Importantly for them, the contributions came from quarters that have been areas of concern in the past.

The middle order, and Colin Ingram in particular, played a meaningful part and a bowling attack without Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel functioned effectively. South Africa's batsmen dealt with Pakistan's quartet of spinners with ease while their seamers, led by Ryan McLaren and Rory Kleinveldt, shut the opposition out of the match.

By contrast, Pakistan suffered because they fielded only two seamers and did not use Saeed Ajmal well enough, taking him off after he had made a breakthrough. The fifth and sixth bowlers, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, conceded 81 runs in 11 overs runs on a surface that did not aid turn, and against batsmen who were intent on proving their captain's belief that they were capable of smothering the spin threat.

Smart stats

Rory Kleinveldt finished with 4 for 22 off just 5.2 overs. This is the lowest number of overs bowled by a South African bowler in an innings while finishing with a four-wicket haul or more.

The 125-run win is South Africa's sixth by a margin of 100 or more runs against Pakistan. Four of these have come in home ODIs.

South Africa's total of 315 is their fourth-highest total against Pakistan and their second 300-plus score against them at home.

Colin Ingram's century is his second and the 14th overall by a South African batsman against Pakistan. Ingram's previous century came in Abu Dhabi in 2010.

Ingram's hundred is his third in ODIs and second in Bloemfontein. He has scored 626 runs in 19 ODIs at an average of 44.71.

The 120-run stand between Ingram and AB de Villiers is the third highest third-wicket stand for South Africa against Pakistan and their highest such stand against them at home. De Villiers has been involved in the top three stands.

Shahid Afridi became the first batsman to pass the 300-sixes mark in ODIs. Afridi has now hit 301 sixes in 324 innings. Sanath Jayasuriya is second with 270 sixes.

The number of overs faced by Pakistan (36.2) is the joint fourth lowest for a completed innings against South Africa. The lowest is 25 overs in Mohali in 2006.

The Pakistan quicks had started well as both Junaid Khan and Umar Gul found early seam movement. Gul repeatedly beat Graeme Smith's bat with deliveries that moved away. Even Hashim Amla, who opened the boundary count with a gorgeous coax through the covers, did not find the going easy. He inside-edged Junaid for four early on and went on to do it twice more in a somewhat charmed stint, which also included him being dropped on 15.

The openers chose to take the Powerplay as soon as it become available. Pakistan used it to introduce spin, which they continued with for 21 overs, but it only restricted South Africa for a while. They scored 29 runs in the Powerplay for the loss of Smith. AB de Villiers promoted himself to No. 3 and was joined by Colin Ingram after Amla had one too many dalliances with chance and was caught on the deep square-leg boundary.

De Villiers and Ingram shared in the most important stand of the innings, with Ingram's knock of greater importance as he tries to cement a spot in the starting XI. Ingram swept well and for the most part they accumulated runs quietly but quickly.

De Villiers hit his first boundary after he had scored 37 runs but his search for singles was ceaseless. When he did find the rope, he did it a second time for good measure. He made room against Ajmal and lofted over extra cover for four to bring up his half-century and then pulled the next ball to bring up the century stand off 103 balls. It had swelled to 120 when Ajmal had the last laugh as de Villiers lobbed to short cover.

Ingram took over and played his part in ending Afridi's participation with the ball. His eighth and last over cost 21 runs; Ingram hit two out of five boundaries. Faf du Plessis was responsible for the other three. He put on 62 with Ingram before scooping to short fine leg.

Although Farhaan Berhardien is not known as a hitter, he was sent in with four overs to go and hit the two sixes of the innings off consecutive balls. He sent Junaid Khan over long-on and midwicket and ensured Ingram, on 96, had strike in the last over.

He needed only one delivery to stroke the ball through the covers and bring up a second century in Bloemfontein and a second against Pakistan. He also took South Africa to their third highest total at the ground, giving Pakistan a tough chase.

Pakistan's openers were challenged by Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who found swing and induced an edge from Mohammed Hafeez that fell short of slip. He could have had Hafeez a second time when he got a leading edge to du Plessis, which popped out of his hands at gully.

Kyle Abbott offered some relief by inviting the drive. Jamshed, however, was just getting into a higher gear when he chased a wide ball off Kleinveldt's second over and was caught at first slip. Kleinveldt also got the timely breakthrough when he ran Hafeez out at the non-strikers' end. Younis Khan had driven back at the bowler, who deflected the ball with the slightest touch of his ring finger.

Pakistan needed a big stand but AB de Villiers did not let Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq settle with clever rotations of his bowlers. They posted 49 before Younis became Abbott's first ODI wicket.

McLaren ensured Pakistan could not claw their way back. He displayed excellent use of variation and the short ball had Misbah caught behind as he tried to pull one. At 135 for 5 in the 29th over, it was only a matter of time but Afridi lengthened it with some blows at the end. Three huge hits took his sixes tally to 301. He muscled his way to 34 before holing out to deep midwicket to give Kleinveldt career-best figures and South Africa a comprehensive win.

Ideally there should have been Irfan in the bowling line-up. But Misbah has been continuesly messing up the team selection on this tour. Also Misbah is in no position to drop Younis Khan.

But I must congratulate Misbah that he has been able to drop Umar Akmal once again. Also Kamran Akmal is doing absolutely nothing with the bat. Also thre is always this danger of dropping catches and bad wicket keeping from Kamran.

Finally there is not much that Misbah can do with this messed up tead. His only mistake was not playing Irfan.

.

dummy4fb
on March 12, 2013, 14:58 GMT

No doubt, South African played better cricket on that day, but I think the real problem is with the Pakistan's teams. They have better players but not playing like a team.
I feel pity for Shoaib Malik, he is much better player in fact all rounder. He should be promoted to No.3 or 4 and should been used along with Saeed Ajmal.

Afridi don't deserve a spot in the team. He is sheer waste. I must say.

faizan_feroz
on March 12, 2013, 13:56 GMT

just remove malik and yunus bring umar akmal at no 3 instead of asad , asad at 4 misbah at 5 include a bowler in place of malik , the team combination and composition is a mess otherwise the team is good , plus hafeez might be better one down and kamran should open the batting misbah is pakistan's hyst rungetter when it cums to recent odi so one mustnt forget that ,

Weloveu
on March 12, 2013, 10:11 GMT

I must admit, the selection of teh ODI squad was a massive dissapointment for me, I wanted to see, Quin De Kock, Van der Merwe and Rilley Rossouw in the team, but instead the likes of AB as wicketkeeper,Behardien and Kleinveldt.

But they why they played we can not faulted Gary Kirstens selection at all.

mzm149
on March 12, 2013, 9:26 GMT

@g.narsimha and @dariuscorny: I have just one answer for you 71-49 and 12-9.

NoorusSabbahKhan
on March 12, 2013, 9:05 GMT

lol, I have only one observation after reading almost all the comments..Indians hate Afridi more than Pakistani do:P..i mean if he performs poor, there are more negative comments from Indian cricket followers than those from Pakistanis:P..thats so interesting:P

dummy4fb
on March 12, 2013, 7:30 GMT

every time batting cause defeat of pakistan this time bowling cause defeat n i dont think that pakistan have this bowling calliper pakistan had better options avalable also,,

USMANRANDHAWA
on March 12, 2013, 6:08 GMT

Every one produce good results if they work hard and that is misfortune for pakistan

g.narsimha
on March 12, 2013, 5:57 GMT

mzm149-just arrogance i wonder how could u make such coments even after 3-0 white wash in tests where u r so called self asumed worlds best boling could not take all 10 in an inning most of the times forget 20 , u r team played agressively in IND deserved win 2-1 is not 1 sided afair ,it is apropriat to campare both teams performance in SA , see the stats u r team doent stand a while where as IND almost won test series last tme we visited there , in over all u r performance vrs SA , AUS , WI IS WORSE , WE FARED FARBETTER IN THOSE PLACES , in recent past we had only one white wash in AUS where u r team got HATRICKS of white washes in AUS won nothing in the last 3 cosicutive tours -so dont drag IND with the sloe mitive to insult our team see where u stand , out side ASIA nothing , u r so called worlds best bowler needs subcontinental strips every where for wickets otherwise he is just ordinery , its not MISBAH,BATAMEN ITS U R OVER HYPPED BOWLERS FAILING MISERBLY WORST THAN minnows

Neo2K
on March 12, 2013, 5:32 GMT

Bring in Haris Sohail, unfrotunately he has to leave the tour Party in Feb due to Ankle injury but he is an Exciting player with Domestic Batting average of 52+ and T20 of 70+. He need to be in playing 11 ASAP. Time for Misbah to wrap things up and also Younus, Shoaib, Afridi and Kamran A as well, there are plenty of young players in our domestic circuit that can better perform them. Bring in Hammad Azam, Fawad Alam and the young fast Bowlers. Mohsin need replace Dave as the Head coach he has the character. Make Hafeez Captain in all format for now, he seems to perform better when tested. We definately need a wicketkeeper batsman who can play at the deeper part of the innings.

Sports4Youth
on March 12, 2013, 20:30 GMT

Ideally there should have been Irfan in the bowling line-up. But Misbah has been continuesly messing up the team selection on this tour. Also Misbah is in no position to drop Younis Khan.

But I must congratulate Misbah that he has been able to drop Umar Akmal once again. Also Kamran Akmal is doing absolutely nothing with the bat. Also thre is always this danger of dropping catches and bad wicket keeping from Kamran.

Finally there is not much that Misbah can do with this messed up tead. His only mistake was not playing Irfan.

.

dummy4fb
on March 12, 2013, 14:58 GMT

No doubt, South African played better cricket on that day, but I think the real problem is with the Pakistan's teams. They have better players but not playing like a team.
I feel pity for Shoaib Malik, he is much better player in fact all rounder. He should be promoted to No.3 or 4 and should been used along with Saeed Ajmal.

Afridi don't deserve a spot in the team. He is sheer waste. I must say.

faizan_feroz
on March 12, 2013, 13:56 GMT

just remove malik and yunus bring umar akmal at no 3 instead of asad , asad at 4 misbah at 5 include a bowler in place of malik , the team combination and composition is a mess otherwise the team is good , plus hafeez might be better one down and kamran should open the batting misbah is pakistan's hyst rungetter when it cums to recent odi so one mustnt forget that ,

Weloveu
on March 12, 2013, 10:11 GMT

I must admit, the selection of teh ODI squad was a massive dissapointment for me, I wanted to see, Quin De Kock, Van der Merwe and Rilley Rossouw in the team, but instead the likes of AB as wicketkeeper,Behardien and Kleinveldt.

But they why they played we can not faulted Gary Kirstens selection at all.

mzm149
on March 12, 2013, 9:26 GMT

@g.narsimha and @dariuscorny: I have just one answer for you 71-49 and 12-9.

NoorusSabbahKhan
on March 12, 2013, 9:05 GMT

lol, I have only one observation after reading almost all the comments..Indians hate Afridi more than Pakistani do:P..i mean if he performs poor, there are more negative comments from Indian cricket followers than those from Pakistanis:P..thats so interesting:P

dummy4fb
on March 12, 2013, 7:30 GMT

every time batting cause defeat of pakistan this time bowling cause defeat n i dont think that pakistan have this bowling calliper pakistan had better options avalable also,,

USMANRANDHAWA
on March 12, 2013, 6:08 GMT

Every one produce good results if they work hard and that is misfortune for pakistan

g.narsimha
on March 12, 2013, 5:57 GMT

mzm149-just arrogance i wonder how could u make such coments even after 3-0 white wash in tests where u r so called self asumed worlds best boling could not take all 10 in an inning most of the times forget 20 , u r team played agressively in IND deserved win 2-1 is not 1 sided afair ,it is apropriat to campare both teams performance in SA , see the stats u r team doent stand a while where as IND almost won test series last tme we visited there , in over all u r performance vrs SA , AUS , WI IS WORSE , WE FARED FARBETTER IN THOSE PLACES , in recent past we had only one white wash in AUS where u r team got HATRICKS of white washes in AUS won nothing in the last 3 cosicutive tours -so dont drag IND with the sloe mitive to insult our team see where u stand , out side ASIA nothing , u r so called worlds best bowler needs subcontinental strips every where for wickets otherwise he is just ordinery , its not MISBAH,BATAMEN ITS U R OVER HYPPED BOWLERS FAILING MISERBLY WORST THAN minnows

Neo2K
on March 12, 2013, 5:32 GMT

Bring in Haris Sohail, unfrotunately he has to leave the tour Party in Feb due to Ankle injury but he is an Exciting player with Domestic Batting average of 52+ and T20 of 70+. He need to be in playing 11 ASAP. Time for Misbah to wrap things up and also Younus, Shoaib, Afridi and Kamran A as well, there are plenty of young players in our domestic circuit that can better perform them. Bring in Hammad Azam, Fawad Alam and the young fast Bowlers. Mohsin need replace Dave as the Head coach he has the character. Make Hafeez Captain in all format for now, he seems to perform better when tested. We definately need a wicketkeeper batsman who can play at the deeper part of the innings.

dariuscorny
on March 12, 2013, 4:39 GMT

@mzm149 yes like we had one sided competition when Ind last visited Pak in 2006 and blanked Pak with 4-1 scoreline,another onesided encounter was in 2008 asia cup when Ind thrashed Pak by 9 wkts,now these are one sided results not those ones in which a teams fails to chase even a score of 168....

AkmalFan
on March 11, 2013, 21:16 GMT

Misbah Ul-Haq should have selected to bat first. If Pakistan was to bowl first, at least make an effort when fielding. Also Pakistan's batting is still a struggle.

FSL2013
on March 11, 2013, 20:31 GMT

Unable to understand why Misbah decided not to bat first. Pakistan are not good chasers so regardless of what pitch's condition is , they should always stick with batting second.

mzm149
on March 11, 2013, 20:16 GMT

@Imsrk: Yes you are right because there was no competition in Indian tour and it was one sided in Pakistan's favor. Pakistan should play against better teams.

saadrasheedarain
on March 11, 2013, 19:20 GMT

I thing its time to give the duty of third umpire to the commentators its lack of professionalism by SA commentators to simply comments against the other team we saw same behavior against NZ too..........
THe benefit of doubt is normally given to batsman as we saw in case against Ingram but against Hafeez i dont know what to say about this bais decision.

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2013, 18:00 GMT

I simply have to say that if the war between Mature Misbah and Stubborn hafeez goes on till the rest of the series, no one else except the Pakistani team will suffer. They have to understand no player is greater than the game or the country.

PAKISTANiLive
on March 11, 2013, 13:45 GMT

Hopefully Pak will bounce back, most exciting cricket team of the world!

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2013, 12:50 GMT

For all guys against Afridi. He has got the most MOM awards from Pakistan and is currently on 9th overall in the world with 29 and if compare to kallis, who is on 3rd with 32 awards. Now everyone can judge how good he is surely a matchwinner on his day. As far as the match no team could win a single match without proper planning and aggressive captaincy tactics. Pakistan cant win a single match in Misbah's pathetic captaincy. Any individual performance may lead pak to victory in any ODI.

reefwizard
on March 11, 2013, 12:49 GMT

realy strange comments both from pak fans and south africans!! yes the sa lineup is a bit out of balance , but since kallis is being rested , aswell as steyn . . and morkel being injured. . its up to the side picked to take there chances now before the champ trophy squad is picked and the above players are added . .

malepas
on March 11, 2013, 12:46 GMT

I been saying from some time that PAK ODI team is not balanced and not picked on merit, lots of over the line players are still featuring in this side, start from the captian down to Afridi,,to play some of these players, we are distroying the balance of the team,,take for example, the only player close to top 10 players of ODI is Umer Akmal and he is not getting the game,,instead,,shoib malik is in, who can't play on fast tracks,we have Misbah,who is stop or slog type of player,,not suitable for middle order, younas is more suitable as he rotates the strick well. Above all, how long it will take for the mngment to understand that they are wasting a very good attacking player like Akmal in the lower order,,he should bat at 1-3 in top order.PAK must think about NEXT WORLD CUP and ppl like Umer,Ahmed Shehzad,Hammad Azam,Umer AMIN and couple of others should be playing alongside Younas so they can learn to build innings and have to aggression to win matches. Word is Balance and Merit.

Copenhagenwalla
on March 11, 2013, 12:39 GMT

@OnlyTestsMatter. I regret you get this impression that SA are not given credit where due. We pakistanis are an emotional lot but people loke me who have followed cricket in over 45 odd years have come over that prejudice long ago, I rate this SA side the best in the World today likewise they have High class reserve players for eachtracha format Of the game. Sorry! I take hat off for the Springboks and salute their never say die spirit and Super team work.

warneneverchuck
on March 11, 2013, 12:39 GMT

ICC shud arrange more tours of pak to either BD or ZIM.I m sure it will be competitive cricket

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2013, 12:33 GMT

Why on earth did Misbah-ul-Haq selected to field first??? When we all know batting line is weak, they should've batted first!!!!

Copenhagenwalla
on March 11, 2013, 11:23 GMT

I am simply amazed at the comments of my countrymen! Surely the management and the captain Of this side would have understood now that seam bowling is the thing on SA pitches! How they come to choose just two pacers is beyond reasonong and the same apply for picking Malik and Afridi ,two players now over the hill. Pakistan has vast natural talent but the selectors are influenced by personal recommendations,family ties and friendship rather than talent hence natural one day players like Razzaq, Imran Nazir, wahab riaz,shazaib etc are overlooked. SA have the right attitude and planning and therefore their trust in new blood pays off. I don't expect much change from Pakistan for the rest Of the series

Testcricketistop
on March 11, 2013, 10:43 GMT

I am still not covinced by the selection policy of the ODI side.

Batting wise it doesn't look to bad, however as a settle line up it is quite short.

As for the bowling attack, it doesn't seem that we are finding the best possible line up, still too much experimenting.

Tsotsobe is proven, Peterson is there, but no Morkel or Steyn?

Still some way to go before the team will be settled.

Third_Gear
on March 11, 2013, 10:32 GMT

Honestly saying, Afghanistan is better than this Pakistan team.

OnlyTestsMatter
on March 11, 2013, 9:35 GMT

boy, am i glad i'm not a pakistani! based on their posts, when they get thrashed in the tests, they are the worst side to have ever played. then, when they dish out a hiding in the T20, they are the greatest team to have ever played. and now, after getting a hiding in the first odi, they are again the worst team in the world ever. what an emotional rollercoaster! but at least they have been consistent in never, ever giving any credit to the protea's...

Shouldas-Wouldas-Couldas
on March 11, 2013, 8:56 GMT

"Oh Pakistan Cricket think tanks" !!!!!
Winning / Losing is part of game, Make no mistake, losing does not hurt - It's the manner of defeat which hurt most.
Spineless / gutless display coupled with poor or no planning indicates all is not well with the team.
After the carnage of test series, its strange and bizarre to persist with "defensive strategy". We need to adopt and play with "AGGRESSIVE APPROACH" , take BOLD DECISIONS, make THINGS HAPPEN. Players need to play for country ( instead of playing to maintain their positions in team).
PCB must look into the selectors approach of "old wine in new bottles" - allow young talent to emerge.
Its time for Misbah to lead from front , promote himself to no. 3 ( and play aggressively ) - show leadership qualities, - ELSE RETIRE PLEASE. Individuals do not matter, it's the country's pride which matter most !

missionbegins2011
on March 11, 2013, 8:37 GMT

5-0 is inevitable in favor of SA. PAK already has an overall disastrous record vs SA in ODIs, Its 39-18 in favor of SA which in my opinion will turn to 43-18 by end of this series

dariuscorny
on March 11, 2013, 7:51 GMT

Pak is going to lose 5-0 no doubt coz i dont see Pak recovering from this defeat ,somehow they managed to defeat an Indian team which was struggling.before that they were handed sound thrashings by the Indians,Pak hv overated bowlers and batsmen the less said the better.If a team performs with descipline, its enough to thrash Pak,they say Ind bowling was below average,but yet their batting failed against below average bowling unit chasing a HUGE target of 167.Afridi spent force,Umar Gul cannot be relied on,Hafeez,Ajmal ineffective so who's left in bowling unit,most overated bowling unit,Misbah who has no shots in his armoury,Younis not suitable.......another whitewash awaited.....

SherjilIslam
on March 11, 2013, 7:49 GMT

Pakistan needs to bat out 50 overs, that's it.Unless, they are not able to bat 50 overs, i don't see them winning any significant match in the near future.

satishchandar
on March 11, 2013, 7:08 GMT

From what i see, i would love Pakistan to open with Kamran and send either Hafeez/Jamshed to no.3 which will stabilise the batting a bit. Have Asad at 4 followed by Misbah/Younis at 5. You can't have both at the same team. Umar Akmal at 6, Malik/Afridi as spin all rounder followed by 4 bowlers in Riaz, Gul, Ajmal and Junaid.. Three pace is the way to go and the fifth bowler shared between Hafeez and spinning all rounder.. Would have loved to have Shezhad there as opener. He is one clean striker in the team now and in decent form. 19 ODIs with average in mid 20's might not merit place in the team but a 100 and 4 40+ scores in last 10 innings will merit a place in the team. Especially with Hafeez who scored ONLY 2 50's and 4 single digit scores in the same period. Hafeez plays as spinner who can open which is not a good thing to do.

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2013, 4:50 GMT

Poor fielding, Wayward bowling and reckless shots were responsible for defeat. with this kind of team 5-0 will be the scoreline for sure.

heathrf1974
on March 11, 2013, 4:44 GMT

It interesting to see how well South Africa are going. It's seems like all their stars are aligning at the right time.

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2013, 4:12 GMT

THe mistake Pakistan made is to send Afridi way down the order and he had not much bowling left> Next match let him open instead of the pedestrian guys who occupy the top slots

hotcric01
on March 11, 2013, 4:07 GMT

Pakistan's long term problem is their batting.They lack high quality batsmen who can score a match winning 100-150 on their day with a good strike rate.Also they should do it against any kind of bowling attack in any condition.They need at least 2 or 3 this kind of batsmen.I think Umar akmal is best suited ODI batsman for them but they have a little faith on him.Younis is a class batsman but he is not consistent enough.Kamran doesn't survive against swing and bounce.Misbah is always behind the required strike rate and he slows down whole team's scoring rate.Nasir is good but still improving.Afridi's golden time is over and he will never play a match winning innings again and his bowing looks flat.Pakistan also need a high quality fast bowling allrounder because next world and champions trophy will be in pacy,swinging and seaming conditionds.They should try Azam or recall somebody like Abdul razak or rana naveed.

Resultpredictor
on March 11, 2013, 4:01 GMT

Pakistan you dont have enough power to defeat SA. So be ready for whitewash in ODIs also. Pakistan have waste captain, Worst bowlers and mediocre batsman. With this kind of team they are not going to win a single match in this series. Pakistan players are just a bunch of players who dont know how to bat, bowl and field.

Karthik78
on March 11, 2013, 3:53 GMT

@t20cric: Question is not about India Vs Pakistan. Match is between SA and Pak. Cricket is a bit silly game, even if the two sides are equivalent, there may be matches like 100s runs of difference in winning. This is the case for this match and then that T20I. But You should accept that Pak is completely dominated by SA as they are doing regularly in this series. At same time, Pak just won one T20I match. If you say Pak is too strong by comparing no. of runs, it is purely big comedy. Because that is nature of cricket. Here consistency matters more than just winning one match by big margin.

getsetgopk
on March 11, 2013, 3:40 GMT

The south african problem not winning an ICC trophy is because they choke, its not that they dont have the ability but its this awefull habit of chocking at crucial games and I dont know how one fixes that but a great clinical win by SA nontheless, now that they are the undisputed test kinds maybe that'll help them brush off those mental insecurities.

Pak's problem are the same, it stems from the fact that we have Misbah a play who isn't ODI material as our captain. And this issue goes back to the Afridi-Waqar spat back on the WI tour. Afridi lacks the brains to be captain not necessarily for issues on the field but rather off it. He's not a good off the field captain LOL dealing with cameras and mic's etc. first we need to get rid of Misbah then promote Hafeez as captain but he should be kept away from the test team.

I dont think PCB can get this one right, its way too complex.

RaadQ
on March 11, 2013, 3:32 GMT

If Pak is to persist playing Kamran in ODIs, he must open, as he is no use down the order. If he doesn't open, no point playing him. I would play Umar Akmal as a WK to groom him into a WK/Batsman, Pak dearly need one for the Test squad. Good to see Afridi make a decent comeback, particularly with the bat. Malik is a complete failure outside of Pak/UAE & India against India, a younger player should be groomed to replace Misbah/Younis in the long term in the middle of the order. My XI: 1. Farhat or Shehzad, 2. Jamshed, 3. Hafeez, 4. Younis, 5. Misbah, 6. Umar Akmal (WK), 7. Afridi 8. Umar Gul 9. Saeed Ajmal, 10. Junaid Khan 11. Mo Irfan/Hammad Azam/Wahab Riaz

riz309
on March 11, 2013, 2:38 GMT

Wow what a pathetic display by Pakistan congrats to SA very well played in all the dept Pakistan can only win against teams like India to play against top teams they need to raise their standard their bowling was no where near the level it supposed to be , after the first 6 overs the downfall begun Hafeez was unlucky Jamshed and Assad threw their wickets the target was too tall and the rest was history throughout this SA tour the team selection was poor just unable to understand why Pak hesitate to take risk shazad and abdur-rehman were missing afridi and akmal should had promoted in the order.

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2013, 2:17 GMT

The Pak fans need to realise that winning two games in India after loads of losses DONOT make them world beaters. Its a mediocre team led by a mediocre board with some has-been unfit players. Go 49-ers. Well played. 5-0 isnt far away.

Albert_cambell
on March 11, 2013, 2:07 GMT

Job done proteas. I am glad that Ingram scored a hundred. Ye is one of consistent performers in our domestic league. We need to find some lower middle batsman, who can win matches in tight situations. I dont have much faiith on Beherdeen. I would pick duminy( if he is fit) or miller in that position. I hope win this series 5-0

shovwar
on March 11, 2013, 1:52 GMT

@ t20cric....well ur title says everything but to tell u the truth in t20 cric luck has more say then ODIs and TESTS. U cant simply win an ODI or a TEST with luck. But for t20 u can ride on luck to win a match. I think t20 is a flip of coin, u hit or u miss. Pak hit and SA miss.. in another day it could have been different. But in TEST u have to be good to win. I dont think in another day Pak can beat SA in a TEST at the moment but t20 even Zimbabwe can win. Pak is not that great in t20 either but yes they do better in t20 than Test and ODI because t20 style help their style. (cannot survive for long). Pak barely can bat for longer period they lack temperament and patience. Thats why they love p[laying t20, hit or miss. One day u ll hit the other day u miss. I enjoy watching t20 but I dont judge a team by t20. The best t20 side is WI at the moment and look at them in ODI and Test.

Crick_Expert
on March 11, 2013, 1:40 GMT

Good ODI match, specially SA team played so good in all formats.
PAK Team should give rest to Misbah, Younis, Asad and bring Ahmed Shahzad, Imran Nazir, Haris Sohail and little boom Abdul Razzak.
Good fight from Boom Boom Afridi but he came too late, he should bat at front line. Pak team needs a fighting CAPT & AFIRDI should CAPT for ODI Team.

Sports4Youth
on March 11, 2013, 1:12 GMT

All you Kamran Akmal supporters. Are you happy now ? how many years has it been since Kamran has scored any runs ? Also his keeping is also shabby regularly.

Also Yonis & Misbah should not be in the limited overs format. They should restrict themselves to test cricket only.

Lastly Irfan would have been usefull. Misbah comitted a big blunder by not selecting him. Also taking off Ajmal when he took wicket was the most senseless thing to do.

.

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2013, 0:32 GMT

I see people seeing Pakistan as one of the weakest sides around and calling their wins lately nothing but a gimmick, As Winston Churchill said and I quote that if you start paying attention at every dog that barks at you, you won't make it to your destination.. Its a game brah chill , at the end of the day one side has to lose and to pakistan's bad luck they've been ending up on the losing side quite too often so haters gonna hate and it doesn't change the fact Pakistan is still the team to beat and it is just a matter of time before they get back on the winning ways

Desihungama
on March 10, 2013, 23:49 GMT

This team and players are so bad it's not even worth checking their averages. Do these players not know how to take singles or a darn thing about rotating strike? What the heck Afridi was thinking with 15 overs left in the game he went smashing as if they needed 50 runs off last 5 overs. Razzaq had baled this team out on so many occasions. The make up of this team is nothing but a farce and a monopoly among current lot of captains to keep deserving players out.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 22:43 GMT

Pakistan's loss is due to poor team selection, last time pak faced SA Razzaq saved them, where is he now?? and for what reason do they not select him. if its age then kick out MISBAH, Younis, Malik, Hafeez and Afridi as well. Please bring Razzaq back as pak desperately need a medium pacer all rounder, as there is too much spin options and they dont always work, tkae today as an example.

SurlyCynic
on March 10, 2013, 22:34 GMT

@ shaww: If the nexr World Cup was in India then I would agree we should be preparing for ODIs on turning pitches. But the next WC is in Aus and the Champions Trophy is in Eng. So if the goal is to win one of those then pitches like this one are perfect to prepare on.

Shahzadhussan
on March 10, 2013, 22:15 GMT

Younis, Asad and Misbah, these three people lost us this match, non of them belong of limited-over cricket. I know many likes Asad but they should accept he is a great player for test only, he can not match limited over game with Umar Akmal. We should analyze things on merit not on the basis of personal liking or relation of some player to certain city. If these three batsmen are going to play rest of the series then congratulations to SA for 5-0 clean sweep. The person who deserves the most to be dropped is Misbah. I can bet if the 11 that played 20 was selected of 50-over match that team would have much more chances of winning the series. Absolutely no vision of PCB for the WORLD CUP or cahmpions trophy

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 22:06 GMT

@Great-shot444 steyn and morkel not playing,so bowling was surely second string

2nd_Slip
on March 10, 2013, 22:00 GMT

Very well played Mr Ingram. Disappointed with the feilding though espacially considering the fact that feilding is one of the strengths of SA cricket.Playing teams like Pak and NZ in shorter formats is quite odd, one minute they play like world beaters the next they produce a below average performance like today.Wish for Pak to bounce back hard and give SA a really good test in the next ODIs

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 21:36 GMT

why misbah has stopped balling of ajmal after first two overs.when he brought bk it ws too late .I coulnt understand SA batsman were scoring singls but he ddnt broght bk specilist ballers somehow this payed him the price.Hafiz wkt ws unfortunate so overall it ws realy bad day fr pak .inshalllah they will come bk.

Great-shot444
on March 10, 2013, 21:20 GMT

This SA team is not a second string . They choose their best available eleven. Kirsten also said that they will not do any experiment . So stop talking that this is a second string side.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 20:54 GMT

Afridi made runs, 2 more sixes...i am happy for that.....and nothing can be done more if there are players like kamran akmal....

Suryawanshi_
on March 10, 2013, 20:40 GMT

Good work Pakistan.. was having a boring day and replays of this match did give some good entertainment....

Some things I noted... Jamshed is the best fielder, Younis and Misbah the most aggressive players, Kamran Akmal great as always with bat and gloves, everyone else chipping in, only Ajmal was a passenger.

shaan1112
on March 10, 2013, 20:38 GMT

Bad decision misbah for batting second, but i am not even going to talk about it. we need changes, which i can clearly see and i dont even have to be a pro in cricket to see that. i dont understand how can pcb not see it. our bowling attack was far superior in the india series. here what we should do here. player to be out of the squad : Shaoib,younis and afridi. players to be in instead : mohd irfan,umar ukmal and imran farhat. team should then have solid batting and solid all bowling attack. we do not need any more allrounder we have a good allrounder in the form of hafeez. our team in second odi shoud be: hafeez should open with kamran so we use him a bit,and one down should be nasir. the rest is like that in a sequence : kamran akman,mohd hafeez,nasir jamshed,misbah,imran farhat ,umar akmal,umar gul,junaid khan(wahab riaz,saeed ajmal and mohd irfan.
GOOD LUCK PAKISTAN TEAM LETS WIN ANOTHER ODI SERIES.

@Karthik78: Do u really think Pakistan won the T20 by luck, beating any team by nearly 100 runs isn't just luck Pakistan batted and bowled really good. If Pak beat SA by luck in that T20 then India beat Australia by luck in the test match.

Pakistan could have done better with the exact same batting line up if they were in the right order.They should have learned from the tour match and put K. Akmal at number 3 or 4. Also it isn't a good idea to make Hafeez open with the bat in the next match cuz Steyn is back. Afridi did decent batting with all of those 6s but gave away too many runs. I think K. Akmal should have came in when Younis did. Malik batted badly and bowled bad as well he should be dropped for the rest of the series. Misbah batted good today, Afridi would be proud of his batting cuz Misbah is the only other Pakistani batsmen to get a 6. I'm not sure why U.Akmal and Mohammed Irfan didn't play.

gsingh7
on March 10, 2013, 19:46 GMT

my prediction of 5-0 series win is on track. want amla to demolish pak attack in 2nd odi. if pak lose 4-1 then they wud slide to 7th in rankings, their lowest in a decade. they need to prepare better batsmen or they wud soon be lowest ranked team, even nz can win them with their current batting and bowling lineups.

gujratwalla
on March 10, 2013, 19:46 GMT

With so many seamers around Pakistan incredibly choose an attack comprising of two has beens,Malik and Afridi.Such lunacy has no place at International level.Misbah and Younis have had their days also. If this biased selecting goes on even 3rd SA eleven can beat them. No heed is ever paid to any voice Of sanity and the bigoted PCB choose players with references to the Board rather than talent. I am not making any excuses but making it clear that like the corrupted government we have the cricket team selection follows suite.

shaww
on March 10, 2013, 19:36 GMT

Bad decisions by captain, bad fielding, bad selection, ... and bad luck cost Pakistan the game (there isn't much else, is there?). Pakistan possess some great talent in both bowling and batting. But to be honest, even with all the luck going South Africas way, the scoreline should have been closer. This was not a great bowling component fielded by Proteas today.

The next few games will serve as a confidence booster for Proteas (if Pakistan persist with current strategy) ... but SA need baptism by fire. Ajmal on a turner would be a good start. Phangiso, Peterson in tandem against batsman whose bread and butter is spin would also be a great indication of what's in teh tool box.

These fast pitches are great entertainment. But i can't see it preparing us(Proteas) for silverware. We should be taking advantage of Pakistan strengths to highlight our weaknesses.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 19:34 GMT

since the retirement of greats like imran khan, miandad, waseem and waqar Pakistan has just become a mediocre team they havent beaten tough teams like south africa in a test series either home or away they rarely have won significant one day tournaments the last time they won against australia in australia in e test was in 95 when was was captain last time they drew a series in south africa was in 98 last time they beat oz in a test series was 94 courtesy of inzi, last time they beat south africa in a test series was way back in 03 or 04, the bunch of players since 2007 are just kings of home conditions and chicken abroad specially the batsmen, in current rankings of one day played today there is not a single pakistani batsmen in the top 25 of the world, I rest my case.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 19:30 GMT

Pakistan certainly needs to make a few changes, they were clearly a bowler short and with a fragile batting line, they would need a strong bowling show. Shoaib malik should make way for a seamer. hafeez needs to come one down and they should open with farhat or akmal, Younis should be dropped as he has never been a good ODI player. Kamran's presenece in the team is a big question mark due to his poor keeping and non-sense batting but he cannot be dropped during the series as Pak doesnt have another keeper in the squad.

AltafPatel
on March 10, 2013, 19:17 GMT

Pak was with their stronger side with full squad. SA batted and bowled very well with putting confidence on new comers like Ingram, Kleinveldt, McLaren who show their potential as well. If this form continues, SA is with safer in absence of Kallist, Duminy, Morkel etc.

shovwar
on March 10, 2013, 19:08 GMT

This is One Day International not Twenty20. This is real cricket after TESTS.

HRZV
on March 10, 2013, 19:03 GMT

Cricket commentary is an art which makes the game more enjoyable while watching it on television. Pommie Mbangwa and Robin Jackman made sure they comment for South Africa and not for the greater good of the game. As for Billy, yes he cannot hear the commentators, but does he not know what to do when the footage is inconclusive? The unwritten law of cricket is and has always been that the benefit of the doubt goes to the batsman. South African cricketers won the game and made the country proud; it is their commentators who let them down. As a neutral spectator of this match, I feel their job was to comment correctly and not try to make right of what is clearly wrong.

TommytuckerSaffa
on March 10, 2013, 18:54 GMT

@Master_uv_Puppetz

I have to disagree with you my friend regarding Afridi. In my opinion PAK fans keep getting let down by Afridi, those brilliant innings he plays only come around every 15 games. He also goes for a lot of runs when he bowls. I think there are better allrounders in Pakistan than him and he lives on hype not actual performance. ODI batting avg= 23. ODI Bowling average = 34. That Sir, is not good enough for a fanatical cricket loving country like PAK.

mzm149
on March 10, 2013, 18:49 GMT

@Cpt.Meanster: Only Steyn and Morkel are not in this "first XI South African team." The worrying thing for Pakistan is that they couldn't score against average bowling. But more worrying thing for India should be that Pakistan team was exactly same when they defeated India earlier this year. This implies that Indian bowling is below average. This was first of the five match series. Four matches are still to be played. Don't pass judgement before series is over.

Karthik78
on March 10, 2013, 18:33 GMT

Good SA, you showed Pak won by luck on T20I. With that single win, People started to speak like SA is good for tests while Pak is for limited overs. You proved them wrong. Keep Going!

crashed
on March 10, 2013, 18:27 GMT

@Omar Abdullah Memon Lol if we can find that reason I am sure they will rule the world - until then enjoy the cricket and keep wondering ;P sometimes I cry about it (mentally now) and mostly I only laugh at it but I always hope that next time they had learned their lesson and will come back stronger - which they do mostly except for that last fateful innings :p maybe it is their way to stay down to earth and not fly too high - who knows???

dariuscorny
on March 10, 2013, 18:22 GMT

this was the most beautiful example how unpredictable Pak can be,this was the same pathetic bowling attack put in front by SA but Pak were folded under 200 where few days ago Pak batsmen ate thses SA bowlers.Misbah's desicion of bowling first backfired coz Pak are never convincing when they chase,we just saw how they faltered against IND chasing a paltry 169?still Pak fans dont get annoyed ,this is nature of Pak team,thats the way they play,wont be surprised if they bounce back and thrash SA like they did in the only t20....

IAS2009
on March 10, 2013, 18:21 GMT

Very poor planning from PAK Batsman, When Hafeez was out game was over from Pakistan, the commentators were spot on, Misbah is a blocker or hitter nothing in between, the problem with this approach is you put pressure on other batsman and if you block too many balls and get out playing high risk shot it does not help team, especially chasing big totals. Misbah does not belong in this team, at least YK was trying to rotate strike and Misbah was tuk tuk. I am not sure when would coach make Misbah change his approach, there are many games Pakistan lost because of this philosophy, Misbah block too many ball and get out playing poor shot.

crashed
on March 10, 2013, 18:16 GMT

@UK_Chap not me I do not hide behind a second string selection to tell the truth I accept the selection as playing on the field as part of my (or any other) country international players. You play with what is dished up on the pitch by the selectors - if they select poor performance players then they need to answer at the end or rectify the poor selections... :p These guys playing today is part of those going to the ICC Champions cup later this year so I accept the fact that they represent SA as if they are the full squad - win or loose no excuses. Just hope the regulars get a go in this series so that all can get the practice for the trophy later on

mzm149
on March 10, 2013, 18:15 GMT

@Bilal Raza: Hafeez was going alright today. It was not his fault in getting out.

mzm149
on March 10, 2013, 18:11 GMT

@samincolumbia: These hit-and-giggle experts humiliated your team recently and have humiliated India more than having been humiliated as 12-9 in tests and 71-49 in ODIs suggest.

HRZV
on March 10, 2013, 18:11 GMT

Congratulations to South Africa for winning the game. But I am disgusted about the way Pommie Mbangwa and Robin Jackman, who were commentating at the time, kept on justifying Hafeez run out. Anyone who understands cricket even slightly knows that it was inconclusive evidence and the benefit of the doubt always goes to the batsman. Even Mike Haysman who took over the commentary after them mentioned it. A very disappointing decision from Billy.

crashed
on March 10, 2013, 18:05 GMT

@Master_uv_Puppetz The third umpire cannot hear the commentators discussion so that it cannot happen that the third umpire were coerced into making any decision he came to the conclusion by himself

dariuscorny
on March 10, 2013, 18:02 GMT

this was the most beautiful example how unpredictable Pak can be,this was the same pathetic bowling attack put in front by SA but Pak were folded under 200 where few days ago Pak batsmen ate thses SA bowlers.Misbah's desicion of bowling first backfired coz Pak are never convincing when they chase,we just saw how they faltered against IND chasing a paltry 169?still Pak fans dont get annoyed ,this is nature of Pak team,thats the way they play,wont be surprised if they bounce back and thrash SA like they did in the only t20....

Cpt.Meanster
on March 10, 2013, 18:01 GMT

Another pathetic performance from an average Pakistani team. Wonder what excuses their fans and players will come up with now. This was not even SA's first XI. Once again unable to score 200 runs on this tour. I guess the whole team has to be shuffled. It's time for teams to stick to their 'home' conditions in order to remain competitive. Cannot see Pakistan winning any of the remaining games either. Feel sorry for their team and fans.

SyedAbidHussain
on March 10, 2013, 18:00 GMT

Afridi is awesome...
Just wonder why didnt Misbah send him up the order, somewhere in between sleepy Younis and Asad where the match actually slipped away from Pakistan.
Too many test players in the XI, they just block their way to glory

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 17:56 GMT

@appkhi - stop spreading wrong info, and confirm before commenting, the team consist of players from all areas of pakistan, three players yunus , shahid and asad resides permanently in karachi, while umar gull and junaid are also not from punjab. the comment is a good example of criticism for sake of criticism

Class-Apart
on March 10, 2013, 17:51 GMT

how of these pakistani players will be playing in 2015 world cup?

Major85D
on March 10, 2013, 17:51 GMT

And again poor decisions by tuk tuk misbah!! why fielding first? why junaid bowled only 9 overs? why ajmal bowled so late?
and with this batting line up, you will never win a game! bring on young players, like ahmed shehzad, umar akmal and haris sohail! And please drop younus khan and misbah! but first of all, it`s time for dave whatmore to go!!

@TommytuckerSaffa u obviously have no idea about how dangerous an inform player can be. If Afridi can find his form, a quick 20 ball 50 or 60 will really (i mean really) hurt SA. So think abt that before commenting on our expectations :)

UK_Chap
on March 10, 2013, 17:27 GMT

There a a lot of Pak fans cheering on a mediocre all round batting display, so what if Afridi hit a couple of sixes. Pakistan lost.... Paks fans really need to get grip and wake up. SAF did have a lot luck go their way today, so they need not get too excited either.

Stark62
on March 10, 2013, 17:22 GMT

Too many dead woods in the team!!

Younis and Malik have proved for the millionth time, they are not good enough to hold down a place in the ODI squad but yet, they keep getting selected and that's the reason why Harris Sohail wasn't given a chance because he would have stolen one of those spots.

Umar Akmal is by far the best limited overs batsmen but he isn't being played and I'm okay with Misbah being in the side, if he plays the way he did today.

Lastly, drop Kamran and give Mohammad Rizwan a go because he can bat and is a good wicket-keeper.

reason-galore
on March 10, 2013, 17:21 GMT

Well it was expected, if pakistani bowling does not click then ofcourse batting does not have a chance. The bowling is not of low quality like that of india that we might chase a target down and look equal to the other team. Pakistan might improve from here(depending on the wickets) but i alteast have no hope, whatsoever. The other things is that we pakistanis are pretty happy with only one spark of delight even if we lose badly e.g people cheering for afridi's 34(really?? was is a score of 34 to be cheered about??). We have very low standards right now just because of performances like these. Every win is an unexpected delight if it is not a minnow. Such has been since the world cup final of 99. We have absolutely no hope from our week minded teams.

Bongz77
on March 10, 2013, 17:13 GMT

Was made to eat my words with the performances of Ingram, Kleinveldt, Mclaren and Behardien. While Ingram might have the time left to forge a lengthy career for himself, the other 3 need to be replaced with younger blood to take their game to the next level.

In all i would like to see De kock, Morris and De Lange given ample game time in the 50 over format for these 3 posses massive potential. Quintin De Kock and Marchant De Lange are as talented if not more talented than AB and Steyn were at the same age, these kids need the game time and faith shown in them as the other two recieved.

ARFB
on March 10, 2013, 17:12 GMT

Looks like Afridi just came to get those 300 sixes in ODI's.It was again a delight to see him playing another selfish,Irresponsible & careless innings.Pakistan team today played with 10 players & SA 12.Well played SA. 5-0 or 4-1 is expected to go in SA'a favour & this series will hopefully give them the launching pad to enter Champions trophy with the No1 status in ODI's too.

PAKISTANiLive
on March 10, 2013, 17:06 GMT

@TommytuckerSAF They are only congratulating him on 301 sixes & afridi was having poor form with the bat, it will boost his confidence!

Hira1
on March 10, 2013, 17:05 GMT

this batting order will lead Pakistan no where, no matter they bat first or second, only capable of scoring at 4 runs an over. Kamran Akmal keeps on batting at number 6 without much success either he should bat at number 3 or play some one else as he is too bad as a wicket keeper, out of Misbah, younus, shoaib and asad shafiq a maximum of 2 can play since they are not capable of rotating strike or hitting boundaries.........hafeez is also hopeless and cannot play on good wickets or good bowlers but his bowling deserves him a place in the side...........if Pak loose this series than Whatmore must resign, what is the use of playing a foreign coach when the local ones can bring same or even better results

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 16:56 GMT

Hafeez cannot and will not score against South Africa in South Africa. He has scored 76 accidentally in his 7th inning in South Africa and is all set to fail for next 6 innings. And Please kick out Shahid Afridi. Bring in Shehzad Ahmed in his place, we might have a chance to win with him. Afridi has given 60 runs in 8 overs. He was outside team and we beat India. He's in again and we have begun to lose again. Throw Hafeez and Afridi out, problem solved. Hafeez should be restricted to subcontinent matches.

Junikamra
on March 10, 2013, 16:53 GMT

hahahaha playing 8 batsman nd after winnig toss fielding 1st nd hoping to chase a target nd how many runs 8 batsman scores "190" this is called professionalism nd team work... pak playing with thier full strength nd africa playing most of thier bak up players specially in bowling department nd looking for champions trophy this is called thinking nd professionalism.. Gary Kristen is a great coach nd nd this is obvious with the team performance from last 12 months.. Now hope that styne show some mercy otherwise bye bye..

kingspakistan
on March 10, 2013, 16:39 GMT

Need to get rid of some old chaps... bring in Umar akmal, wahab riaz and play with three seamers. And SA again used DRS for themselves. Ingram was out and not given, Hafeez decision was inconclusive and gone against Pakistan, Ajmal was given out by possibly a blind cricket umpire. I wonder why ICC didn't apologize to Younus when he was given out in same fashion as Kallis in 2nd test. Hypocrates... Pakistan will come back hard on you.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 16:38 GMT

Afridi made a good comeback, may he persist it

samincolumbia
on March 10, 2013, 16:28 GMT

I don't understand why the hit-and-giggle experts (Pakistan) plays ODI's and Tests to be humiliated all the time?

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 16:26 GMT

Pakistan needs to play with associate before playing any top teams.

UK_Chap
on March 10, 2013, 16:25 GMT

Why do SAF fans continue to go about "this is our second XI" etc... no single individual is bigger than the team. The fact SAF may have one or two other players missing is neither her nor there, Pakistan also have various other players missing for other reasons. What excuses do you have for SAF getting thrashed in all ICC events. Don`t tell me that the second XI were playing in all those events aswell.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 16:22 GMT

Well played Pakistan. Its always pleasing and ingratiating to see you lose badly. Keep it coming folks..

Professor.Biscuit.Khan
on March 10, 2013, 16:11 GMT

I wonder, if Pak batsmen couldn't score even 200 against 2nd choice bowlers of SA, what will happen once Steyn, Morkel and Kallis return.

@ Cricket_Man

Completely agree with you. If Ind can take services of Wasim and Waqar then PCB too can also request Dravid or Laxman to help correct the technique of Pak batsmen. Language won't be problem either.

TommytuckerSaffa
on March 10, 2013, 16:11 GMT

LOL @ all the PAK fans banging on about Afridis 34 run knock as being one of the very special batting innings ever - get a grip!!! If that pleases PAK fans after being thrashed by 125 runs, then their expectations are very low indeed. I also dont like the way Afridi doesnt get permission from his captain or the keeper to review the umpires decision - he just makes the decision himself - not a team player.

mzm149
on March 10, 2013, 16:07 GMT

@appkhi: FYI Afridi, Younus, Asad, Gul and Junaid not from Punjab!!

mzm149
on March 10, 2013, 16:02 GMT

Hafeez was unlucky again to get out in this manner. We cannot only rely on him alone. Jamshed should take responsibility and should not throw away his wicket every time after a good start. What Malik, Akmal, Younus and Misbah did was expected. Asad Shafiq was disappointing too. If Pakistan cannot win with 8 batsmen on a batting track, they should think about some major changes. Four names that immediately come to mind are Malik, Akmal, Younus and Misbah.

Pak was never going to chase down the total when SA passes 250. Its high time Pak fans stopped giving excuses . Pak team is just not good enough. they are supposedly going through rebuilding process for last 10 years.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 15:54 GMT

seems like everyone is playiing individually, when the team plays mutually you see the results, i mean like against india , or in the world cups same guys show their best , but here the team is rotten into pieces, so sad that a good odi team is falling like bangladesh does or zimbabwe does.......hope they could understand from this hard and harsh lost, good for Lala, he somehow made a little bit high things........

guptakapil13
on March 10, 2013, 15:48 GMT

Dear Pakistani Friends, A 34 run innings guys that's all it was, demand more from your players. He averaging less than 24 in ODI.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 15:45 GMT

Shezad and Wahab for the next game Yunis ,Shoaib,Asad that's too many batsmen.

PureProteas49
on March 10, 2013, 15:42 GMT

@khawaja Zain UL Islam, Please do yourself a favour and go watch the highlightS, Rorys finger did touch the ball witch richocted into the stumps and your man was out of his crease, DONE DEAL, WE ARE GOING TO WHIP YOU 5-0, ACCEPT IT

uk2009
on March 10, 2013, 15:39 GMT

Time to get rid of misbah, afridi, malik, younis, kamran akmal and umar gul in the ODI's. We need some youngsters. Yes they might fail initially but they will give results in the long run. Unlike these old horses who have failed time and time again and still keep on getting chances.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 15:38 GMT

it was on the cards , a team contains misbah, shoaib malik , kamran akmal , shahid afridi deserve this type of result bcoz they all r pathetic players, if pakistan will play again with those players then we will see the same result again and again so dont blame others for this loss, blame our PARCHI SYSTEM its my humble request to all above players to please retire from the cricket and give us chance to say thanks to them.

Cricket_Man
on March 10, 2013, 15:38 GMT

Another question: If India can get Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed as bowling consultants for IPL then why can't Pakistan get someone like Rahul Dravid or VVS Laxman as batting consultants. The argument of Pakistani players not understanding foreign language would be eliminated too then. Or is there no cure to this batting lineup?

There's a lesson for all bowlers now, just act like u've really got the wicket and u'll actually get it.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 15:34 GMT

Excellent decision as Pakistan are historic bad chasers and this would provide excellent experience for chasing during the champions trophy but we lacked a seaming allrounder on this pitch so where is Hammad Azam why isnt he selescted in the squad

appkhi
on March 10, 2013, 15:34 GMT

Well played SA....Punjab Eleven collapse this was expected...Pakistan need to select team from Pakistan not just from one province....Misbah, Kamran Akmal, Younas specialy Shoaib Malik should be out bring young players ....if not then keep getting defeats.

SaadRocx
on March 10, 2013, 15:34 GMT

WOW what a Performance By Pakistan..against an Inexperienced bowling attack and No STEYN... just one line to sum up the things..................................... (ITS BEYOND DESCRIPTION) :P

Always_pakistan
on March 10, 2013, 15:33 GMT

Why didt they change the batting order this is not a oneday batting lineup.
Where is our best batsman umar akmal. realy bad planning by the team magnement.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 15:33 GMT

Pakistan playing like minnows. This is literally a second South African XI :)

UK_Chap
on March 10, 2013, 15:33 GMT

Never mind the cricket, can someone do something about the awful one sided commentary on the game. With Mike Hayesman and Robin Jackman leading the way as SAF cheerleaders, the broadcasters should really have at least some neutral people. Based on the current commentary teams point on view , the SAF team can do no wrong even when there are fumbles or bad balls bowled. They do seem to highlight the other teams faults very well though. Good game by SAF today, the openers had a lot of luck but rode it out and gave their team a good start. Nothing seem to go right for Pakistan today. This is for the PCB selectors, please get rid of Misbah, Younis and Kamran Akmal. The team needs a fresh perspective and some new blood, why was Shahzad left out ?.

Cricket_Man
on March 10, 2013, 15:31 GMT

Utterly disgusting performance by Pakistan. Poor fielding, lack of planning and stop-start batting were the major causes amongst many for this poor show. Credit goes to South Africa too for their fine performance after a poor show against the Kiwis. After a good start by the openers Younis and Misbah got jammed at the crease. At a time when the required rate was 8+ they were struggling to even get singles. They should learn from a player like Ingram who is much junior than them in terms of experience. People say Kamran Akmal makes his place in the team as he is a batsman-wicketkeeper but neither his batting nor his keeping are up to the standards. Afridi proved to be a liability with the ball and though he showed glimpses of the BOOM BOOM he is with the bat but still his quick fire 30+ doesn't warrant a place for him. When are the Pakistani fans going to see fresh faces in their team? Someone should be answerable for this.

SaadRocx
on March 10, 2013, 15:30 GMT

I am sick and tired of this Pakistani team now...Plays defensively again, Hafeez again being selfish and Opening the innings..Kamran Akmal can't even slog the with the bat..he looks even pathetic than a club level cricketer..Bowling was utterly pathetic...need to give Wahab Riaz a chance..and wait!!!!! What can i say about THE kING of Tuk Tuk Misbah ul Haq and oldy Younis Khan? they were just blocking and blocking ...Pak won the t20 cause of their attacking approach..and they again played defensively today..Winning the toss and choosing to bowl on a pitch which slows down in the second innings...thats PATHETIC..what was Dave NoMore, and Misbah thinking? where's Ahmad Shehzad who is pretty aggressive opening batsman? Asad Shafiq...looks pretty ordinary in ODI'S...Sorry but i found nothing positive in this match..except for Afridi's cameo..utterly waste of this for the Pakistani Fans...Wonder when would Pakistan Learn from their Mistake..Plz Publish!!! Cricinfo...

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 15:27 GMT

brilliant batting by Lala ,.,.,. unfortunality no one there to participate with him,.,.but i'm happy to see lala in his form as a BOOM BOOM,.,.,
I congratulate lala on hitting 301 sixes,.,.Congrates lala,.,.,congrates pakistan.,.,as well congrates ICC having such player in the history.,.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 15:22 GMT

well played by SA.

Poor from PAK, 1st they decided to chase, gone in with only 2 fast bowlers. if they chose to field 1st as pitch has some thing to offer then why not 3 fast bowlers. going in with 4 spinners is mistake on SA wickets where it doesnt turn much.

PAK never good chasing side & they never chased more than 260 in last 3 years.

Apart from hafeez/ajmal no bowler did well. bowling is a concern for afridi. GUl was good early on but failed.

Jameshed got out to poor shot, younas & misbah & shafiq took too many balls and fell to their own pressure.

Kamran & Malik also played poorly.. Kamran is worst batsman down the order. he should open instead if hafeez.

Ajmal didnt even knew that DRS is in ODIs, lol

Some good shots by Afridi and will boost his batting confidence as he never scored anything in past many inings.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 15:21 GMT

SA played well,,,,,,,,,,
afridi done 300 sixes 1st player of the history in one day cricket how touch such a milestone acheivments batting bowling feilding good job boom boom afridi .

colossalcricketer
on March 10, 2013, 15:20 GMT

Pakistan are the true minnows ! I mean their batting is not up to the mark if they can't last for even 50 overs. Huh! And the point is that Steyn and Philander and even Morkel did not play in this patch ! They capitulated to a 2nd grade SA attack ! The fact that this 2nd grade attack is still better than a few other countries is another story !

Terrible to say least. Our strength is not chasing but making the opposition under pressure when they chase the target. Poor captaincy. Lets hope Afridi comes good with bat but Hamid was the better choice because he is young and talented whereas Afridi is not coming good with bat&ball like before.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 14:35 GMT

Sorry but Hafeez's Wicket changed the match. It was a BLUNT wrong decision to give Hafeez out when the bowl was NOT touched by the bowler. Ofcourse since the past bowlers have made the fakest of claims they can make to get the respective batsmen out just look at austrailia. AGAIN WRONG DECISION BILLY!

Resultpredictor
on March 10, 2013, 13:54 GMT

Worst team ever in the cricket, even Bangladesh is playing best cricket than Pakistan. Pakistan cannot win against SA at any cost and no one can save them from defeats. Pakistan already lost this match and the series will be lost 5-0 or if Pakistan can manage a single win then they can avoid whitewash. But with these set of waste players i dont think Pakistan can even win a single match. Pakistan have worst batsman and waste bowlers. Pakistan stop playing Cricket. Its waste of time, money and practice. So stop playing cricket

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 13:47 GMT

too slow for pak now and very very difficult. they are never good chasing side and never chased this much in past 2 and half years.

Ar_GmG
on March 10, 2013, 13:27 GMT

pakistan need a big partnership by both batsmen yunus and shafiq.......

romirom
on March 10, 2013, 13:22 GMT

very very pöor captaincy from misbah. First chosing chase in which pak are never good at. Than the team selection and the decision to opt out ajmal when he took wicket in his 2nd over. Now 2 down. Hop 4 the good fight from middle order.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 13:15 GMT

Good job Billy Bowden. Don't give benefit of doubt to the batsmen. Just because the commentators keep saying so give benefit of doubt to the bowler. (Y)

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 12:46 GMT

Well played by Ingram and Farhan.

that is what happens when you chose 2 spinner allrounders in SA. I think they should have had 1 more fast bowler. it is the area where the medium pace batting allrounder comes in. and pakistan need 1 badly after razak to balance the team.

And on top of that you are bowling 1st.

In SA you cant go with 4 spinners. Gul & junaid bowled well in start but later on failed. apart from hafeez/ajmal no one else impressed. Afridi's bowling is also a big concern.

A big total but looks like a good pitch and today have selecetd 1 more batsman.

I'm glad Behardien finally hit a few boundaries after all these chances, well done to him, but he was lucky to come in after the spinners had finished as he really struggles to rotate the strike against them.

So if he is "not a death hitter", and struggles against spin, should he really be batting at 6 for SA?

2nd_Slip
on March 10, 2013, 22:00 GMT

Very well played Mr Ingram. Disappointed with the feilding though espacially considering the fact that feilding is one of the strengths of SA cricket.Playing teams like Pak and NZ in shorter formats is quite odd, one minute they play like world beaters the next they produce a below average performance like today.Wish for Pak to bounce back hard and give SA a really good test in the next ODIs

shaww
on March 10, 2013, 19:36 GMT

Bad decisions by captain, bad fielding, bad selection, ... and bad luck cost Pakistan the game (there isn't much else, is there?). Pakistan possess some great talent in both bowling and batting. But to be honest, even with all the luck going South Africas way, the scoreline should have been closer. This was not a great bowling component fielded by Proteas today.

The next few games will serve as a confidence booster for Proteas (if Pakistan persist with current strategy) ... but SA need baptism by fire. Ajmal on a turner would be a good start. Phangiso, Peterson in tandem against batsman whose bread and butter is spin would also be a great indication of what's in teh tool box.

These fast pitches are great entertainment. But i can't see it preparing us(Proteas) for silverware. We should be taking advantage of Pakistan strengths to highlight our weaknesses.

SurlyCynic
on March 10, 2013, 12:16 GMT

I'm glad Behardien finally hit a few boundaries after all these chances, well done to him, but he was lucky to come in after the spinners had finished as he really struggles to rotate the strike against them.

So if he is "not a death hitter", and struggles against spin, should he really be batting at 6 for SA?

that is what happens when you chose 2 spinner allrounders in SA. I think they should have had 1 more fast bowler. it is the area where the medium pace batting allrounder comes in. and pakistan need 1 badly after razak to balance the team.

And on top of that you are bowling 1st.

In SA you cant go with 4 spinners. Gul & junaid bowled well in start but later on failed. apart from hafeez/ajmal no one else impressed. Afridi's bowling is also a big concern.

A big total but looks like a good pitch and today have selecetd 1 more batsman.

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 13:15 GMT

Good job Billy Bowden. Don't give benefit of doubt to the batsmen. Just because the commentators keep saying so give benefit of doubt to the bowler. (Y)

romirom
on March 10, 2013, 13:22 GMT

very very pöor captaincy from misbah. First chosing chase in which pak are never good at. Than the team selection and the decision to opt out ajmal when he took wicket in his 2nd over. Now 2 down. Hop 4 the good fight from middle order.

Ar_GmG
on March 10, 2013, 13:27 GMT

pakistan need a big partnership by both batsmen yunus and shafiq.......

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 13:47 GMT

too slow for pak now and very very difficult. they are never good chasing side and never chased this much in past 2 and half years.

Resultpredictor
on March 10, 2013, 13:54 GMT

Worst team ever in the cricket, even Bangladesh is playing best cricket than Pakistan. Pakistan cannot win against SA at any cost and no one can save them from defeats. Pakistan already lost this match and the series will be lost 5-0 or if Pakistan can manage a single win then they can avoid whitewash. But with these set of waste players i dont think Pakistan can even win a single match. Pakistan have worst batsman and waste bowlers. Pakistan stop playing Cricket. Its waste of time, money and practice. So stop playing cricket

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2013, 14:35 GMT

Sorry but Hafeez's Wicket changed the match. It was a BLUNT wrong decision to give Hafeez out when the bowl was NOT touched by the bowler. Ofcourse since the past bowlers have made the fakest of claims they can make to get the respective batsmen out just look at austrailia. AGAIN WRONG DECISION BILLY!

PkZindabaad
on March 10, 2013, 14:41 GMT

Terrible to say least. Our strength is not chasing but making the opposition under pressure when they chase the target. Poor captaincy. Lets hope Afridi comes good with bat but Hamid was the better choice because he is young and talented whereas Afridi is not coming good with bat&ball like before.